HOME AUTOMATION
Home automation is a scenario where fiber connectivity can be valuable, since it enables much more elaborate and interesting services – this is a market where there is clearly a demand from end users and are very promising factors of fiber, Felten said. “The main issue so far in the market is that the telco operators and the security companies don't always work very well together.”
It is sometimes difficult for both parties to agree on their responsibilities to the customer and implement a win-win profit-sharing model. “However, it is inevitable that things will begin to move in that space because this is an area where customers are willing to pay,” Felten said.
At the moment, three applications of home automation that have great demand among consumers are security, energy saving and e-health.
Appliances within the home will need a reliable pathway to communicate with service providers. Whether it is remotely accessed video or smart metering, all services must be always available and highly reliable, said Dan Waugh, VP of System Integration at Connexion Technologies. “Fiber is the best way, as it is the most resilient and reliable technology currently available.”
Security
With video surveillance migrating to IP, FTTH creates greater value. Many networks already offer security services over fiber. The customer can see video feeds in real-time, creating the possibility to have a DIY system where the monitoring company is no longer essential.
It also allows greater automation of alarm systems. A person is not necessarily needed to monitor the video feed and see that something is going wrong. When intelligent sensors detect an anomaly and generate alarms, the customer or security company can remotely view the situation instead of dispatching personnel to inspect on-site. This also lowers the rate for false alarms, avoiding unnecessary calls to law enforcement agencies.
Furthermore, an advanced home monitoring system with multiple cameras for perimeter protection and indoor surveillance could take roughly 12 cameras. “According to Chelsea Render of Bosch Security Systems, a typical security camera currently requires roughly one to two megabits per second (Mbps) for upstream transmission of high-quality video that is not capped or compressed. Assuming 12 cameras, an average of 18 Mbps upstream would be required for the video feed over IP. HD cameras will take this to even higher levels,” said Render of RVA. “In the North American markets we track, only FTTH can provide this.”
However, IP-based home alarm systems are highly dependent on the quality of service of the networks. “They need more reliable connections to transmit signals back to the home monitoring system,” Waugh said.
Although FTTH typically has low network failure rates, fallback connections should still be considered, warned Render of RVA. “An alternative communication method could be wireless broadband, though this would require restricting the feed to key cameras or lowering video quality to accommodate the much lower upstream bandwidth capacity.”